Show Up and Stay in the Room

A woman came up to me after her second Bikram Yoga class this afternoon and asked ‘How did you do nine classes in ten days?’

This was my reply:

I never put any expectations on myself. If all I do is show up and stay in the room for ninety minutes I’m still getting the benefits of acclimatizing to the heat, soaking up the energy from other people and meditating. I allow myself the choice to lie in Savasana the whole time. Of course, I never do, because once I get going I don’t stop, but knowing I don’t have to do anything more than lie on the floor gets me out of the house and in the door.

I’ve also learned to ignore the teacher shouting ‘more, more, more’ or ‘push, push, push’. I concentrate on setting up the pose correctly by following every command and then stay still once I get there. A bit like ‘marking’ when you’re learning a dance. It the beginning form is more important than flexibility or strength. Taking it easy means you won’t be shattered.

100% is an illusion…. 100% or even 90% is impossible to maintain. You will become exhausted. Mentally if not physically and terrified of practising the yoga you love because it is draining you not replenishing you.

But even if you could practice at that intensity—even if you were so strong, you would never become exhausted—it would be undesirable. You can’t make adjustments at your edge. You can’t listen to your body. ~ Tony Sanchez

Today’s class with Lauren was great. I did every pose and only faded a bit at the end. My first for today was almost doing a toe stand. I got all the way down but kept my hands on the floor because I couldn’t balance yet. It’s exciting to do something you thought you couldn’t.

toe stand{photo source}

Today was the last day of my ten day pass. I signed up for another 30 days of unlimited classes. Yee ha!

About KatieP

Embracing my midlife sexy while exploring modern love & relationships • Devoted to all things beautiful • Master of Arts in creative writing & non-fiction writing

9 thoughts on “Show Up and Stay in the Room

  1. OMG toe stand!! I used to stay in tree cause I never believed I could do toe stand. It sounds like you and Bikram are a perfect match.

    1. My teacher made me do it. I could get my hands on the ground with straight legs so she said to move my hands to the front of the mat to lean on while I squatted down and then I just had to sit back and find my balance. Still a bit rough and far from elegant but I’ll get there.

  2. Im just waiting to go!! I gotta find time but your account of your journey has been fab and inspired me to really try and fit it in. My problem is I would like to do the 3-4 time a week but in reality its probably going to be 1 maybe 2, is this enough? Old shar says no, why bother, Shar the evolving one 🙂 say yes its better than not going. I hope to report I have been by the end of this week. Thanks again for sharing, please continue to do so. xx

    1. No expectations Shar — just set your intention and see what happens. Maybe you’ll get to class more than you think right now? Who knows?
      I’d say it’s definitely worth going even irregularly. It does take time to get used to the heat and being ‘instant Katie’ I wanted to get it over and done with quickly which is why I did all the back to back classes. But once I go back to Uni I’m sure I won’t have as much time.
      Good luck with your first class. I can’t wait to hear about it!

    2. Hey Shar.

      If you only ever go once in this lifetime it’s still enough because it’s an experience you wouldn’t have experienced otherwise :).

      If I put an expectation on myself that I’m going to do x amount of whatever (yoga, weights, crossfit, dog walks, pole dancing, etc) and then don’t do as many I set myself up for a downer so I just say I’m going to do 1 and then of course I get more than that done which is an awesome (we love that word ;)) feeling. As Katie said set your intention to go maybe once a week and let the Universe sort out the rest. It always delivers what we truly want and need :).

  3. Thanks Katie and Shelley. Something Im working on is losing the planning that has gotten me into trouble before with setting unrealistic goals/schedules for myself.

    I have set my intention to go on Friday at 4pm. Then I will look at it day by day and fit it in where and when I can (depending on the outcome of the first try 😉 )

    xxxx

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